Fatal accident drives home point: don't text and drive

Saturday

May 18, 2013 at 12:01 AM

Drivers can sometimes hear safety messages so often they lose their punch. Yet that doesn't make the warnings any less relevant. Don't drink and drive may have been in the vernacular for a long time now, but it rings just as true today. A newer admonition, don't text and drive, may be ignored by more drivers than drinking and driving. Yet a deadly accident in Davidson County this week shows how vital it is for drivers to put their phones down when operating a vehicle.

Drivers can sometimes hear safety messages so often they lose their punch. Yet that doesn't make the warnings any less relevant. Don't drink and drive may have been in the vernacular for a long time now, but it rings just as true today. A newer admonition, don't text and drive, may be ignored by more drivers than drinking and driving. Yet a deadly accident in Davidson County this week shows how vital it is for drivers to put their phones down when operating a vehicle.Highway Patrol troopers allege a Greensboro man was texting while driving on Interstate 85 Business Loop on Tuesday. He failed to see traffic stopping in front of him due to a construction-related rolling roadblock, and he plowed into the back of another car at more than 60 miles per hour. The driver of the stopped car died. With all the construction taking place in Davidson County, drivers need to be particularly careful. The temptation can be great to glance at a smartphone to retrieve information or a feature phone to read a text, but that those few seconds of inattention can produce tragic results.Parents in northern Davidson County are putting their desire for a new high school into action by sending letters to the county commissioners seeking funding. The school would join Oak Grove Middle School, which opened this year, to relieve overcrowding at Ledford and North Davidson middle schools. The preliminary budget for the next fiscal year released by county manager Robert Hyatt this week does not include the money, although it does appear in the county's capital improvement plan for 2014-15. The school seems to be one of those items that everyone, including commissioners, want to see built, but finding the funding has proven challenging.A partnership between health care providers and the faith community took another step forward this week with the naming of a health care liaison, the Rev. Coley Rimmer, and signing of covenant between some churches and Wake Forest Baptist Health. One of the exciting aspects of the partnership is that Lexington will serve as a pilot location for a project that could eventually expand to other areas. More details will come as the partnership officially begins in the fall, but any effort that improves the health of local residents should be celebrated.Congratulations to the graduates of Davidson County Community College. The college held its commencement activities May 11, and 1,425 graduates received degrees or certificates. Many of these students will now go on to other educational institutions to continue their learning after receiving a solid foundation at DCCC. High school graduation season isn't far behind, and May and June are months of milestones for so many students in the county.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.